Democrat Commissioners do Nothing to Fight for Fairness

Bergen Homeowners Paid $2.6 Billion in Local School Costs in 2024

For Immediate Release
September 2, 2025

Bergen County, NJ—With the start of another school year, Bergen County taxpayers are reminded of huge $2 billion school tax burden they bear thanks to state and county Democrats, who refuse to stand up for Bergen taxpayers, say the Bergen County Republican Commissioner candidates Jay Costa, John Dinice and Andrea Slowikowski.

“Bergen County school districts have been getting shortchanged for years in the amount of school aid they get; and, as a result, our residents’ property taxes are seriously impacted by the lack of fair school funding,” says Jay Costa, a businessman from River Vale with three young children.

“The state’s school funding formula, created and implemented by the Democrats, severely underfunds Bergen County, but the Democrat county commissioners fail to do or say anything to stand up for Bergen taxpayers,” says Dinice, a Mahwah school board member, who notes that state aid makes up just 6 percent of the Mahwah school budget.

Urban school districts in other counties, he said, are getting up to 80 percent of their school costs paid by state taxpayers.

Slowikowski, a member of the Demarest Borough Council, said her town’s school district lost significant school aid this year, making it harder on taxpayers in the community.

“School taxes are a major driver of property tax increases in Bergen County, yet our county commissioners do nothing to address this obvious financial issue that impacts senior citizens and middle-class families. Fighting for more school funding for Bergen County will be one of our priorities when we are elected in November,” says Slowikowski.

As a consequence of the small amount of school aid the county received in 2024-25,  Bergen taxpayers had to pay more than $2.6 billion in local school aid, by far the most in the state.

By way of comparison;  Middlesex County taxpayers paid $1.7 billion and Essex  County residents paid $1.33 billion in local school taxes in 2024. The 2025 figures are not yet available.

The cause of the school tax discrepancy is in the amount of tax dollars that are returned to Bergen schools from Trenton.

In the current school year (2025-2026) all Bergen districts combined will receive $505.60 million in school aid. Essex County will receive $2.07 billion. Four other counties will receive more than $1 billion in aid —  Union County ($1.24 billion); Passaic County ( $1.15 billion); Middlesex County ($1.07 billion) and Camden County ($1.03  billion). Hudson County will receive $886,099 and Mercer County will get $662,477.

At least three cities will get more school aid than Bergen. The City of Newark will receive nearly three times as much school as all of Bergen — $1.32 billion. The City of Paterson will get $618.88 million and Elizabeth City will get $597.39 million. Trenton with $400 million in aid rivals the state funds going to all of Bergen’s school districts.

“When you look at the disparity in state school aid, it is impossible to ignore the fact the Bergen County is getting cheated,” says Costa. “Unfortunately, the liberal Democrats on the County Board of Commissioners are willing to see our tax money go to places like Newark, Paterson and Camden, not to us in Bergen. Are they representing Newark, or are they representing Bergen County?”

“The Democrats will try to tell voters that inequality in school aid is not a county issue,” says Dinice. “I believe they are wrong. When something like this atrocious inequality impacts people’s lives to the tune of $2.6 billion, I say it is an issue for all elected officials in Bergen County.”

“Bergen County sends the most tax money of any county to Trenton, Bergen’s commissioners should be pressuring the state to return more of that money to us,” says Slowikowski.

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